Nominet’s competitors allege foul play

Earlier today, The Register threw light on an activity which they say has gone unnoticed for a while. They claim that Nominet is indulging in market abuse by taking advantage of their market position.

The piece read that .UK domain name holders are being overcharged while the company behind it is winning contracts by undercutting the market in what may be illegal market abuse. According to the report, Nominet has in recent months signed a number of contracts with commercial operators for internet extensions ranging from .BOSTON to .VODKA.

The Register said that such behavior almost certainly runs foul of UK competition law and after months of stonewalling by the company, some of Nominet’s competitors are now considering lodging a formal complaint with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

They have accused Nominet of being guilty of predatory pricing, cross-subsidization and price inflation and that the company is capitalizing their control over the market.

They said :

There is of course nothing illegal about holding a dominant position in a market, but under the law it comes with an undertaking not to impair competition or distort the market.

In particular, the CMA takes a very dim view of a dominant company if it is seen to use its position to eliminate competition or leverage its position in a related or neighbouring market.